DID YOU READ

Arnaud Desplechin on “A Christmas Tale”

November may be too early to call it, but as of now, this writer’s favorite film of the year has more in common with “The Family Stone” or “Home for the Holidays” than most European filmmakers’ oeuvres — but it certainly ain’t a product of Hollywood. Written and directed by the tremendously gifted, expectation-defying auteur Arnaud Desplechin (“Kings and Queen,” “My Sex Life… Or How I Got Into an Argument”), “A Christmas Tale” doesn’t just freshen up the holiday reunion melodrama. Rather, it reinvents the overplayed genre into a novelistic epic; a banquet of exhilarating sights and naked emotions; a rich ensemble piece so joyous and heartbreaking that any lucid description is bound to get a bit purple. Set in a provincial French town, the film introduces the fractious Vuillard family (including some of the country’s finest actors: Mathieu Amalric, Chiara Mastroianni, Melvil Poupaud and Emmanuelle Devos) as they reunite after several years, then learn that matriarch Junon (Catherine Deneuve) will die without a bone marrow transplant. Bickering and boozing under the same roof, tensions build, secrets are unveiled and resentments both implode and explode, but Desplechin’s idiosyncratic filmmaking dazzles in such dense detail that a single viewing can’t possibly reveal all the film’s treasures. (See what I mean? Purple.) With a little help from a translator, the quite amiable Desplechin and I chatted last month about the film’s distinctly American genre, why Michael Mann fascinates him and Angela Bassett’s derrière.

At the beginning of the film, Vuillard patriarch Abel delivers a eulogy about the death of his first-born son, and if I’m not mistaken, it seemed joyous. Was I not picking up something?

I can’t pick it up either. The words actually come from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s diaries, and it’s what he said upon the death of his child. When he said those words in Concord, it was a shocking thing to hear then, too. He was trying to make something negative into a positive, or to find something positive in what was basically negative. When I came across this, I didn’t know what to make of it. I thought it had both poetic and even dramatic value, and through an actor might come to have meaning.

You have this man saying, “I’m not sad.” It’s not lying; it’s fighting against the idea of mourning. 20 years after that, all his family is mad. [laughs] But it’s in a nice way, because all of them are contesting their own sadness, saying: “I don’t give a shit.” That’s what Emerson was calling the New World. It’s creating a new world because of the things that are unpardonable and the things that can’t be recovered. Of course, there’s a grotesque aspect because you have this little provincial town in France, where each of the members of this one family is trying to construct their own new world. I think that’s nice. That’s my way of understanding Emerson’s life.

That also explains a momentarily seen homage I didn’t catch the first time: a movie poster for Terrence Malick’s “The New World.” In another interview, you mentioned that you write action before characters. Could you elaborate?

It’s difficult to express that. What I could say is I’m not able to write “here you are” with a character, walking in the street, this guy talks like this or like that. Until I film him, I don’t know him. Is he gloomy? Funny? I can’t see a thing. To give you an example: In the beginning, when Abel is speaking about mourning his son, he says, “My son detached himself from me like a leaf detaches itself and falls from a tree.” If you hear this, you might think that this is really cruel. How could he say such a thing? But working together with the actor, Jean-Paul Roussillon, we looked at it. You can see that here’s somebody who turns out to be quite maternal. He’s the one who mothers his family. Once you see him that way, perhaps what he says before becomes a little more understandable. It doesn’t have the cruelty that you thought it had at first.

There are so many richly developed characters in this ensemble. Working the way you’ve just described, how do you juggle them all and still maintain a believable complexity?

That’s very hard to do, to keep all the balls in the air at the same time. What you have to do is make it work for all the parties that are involved, for the viewers, but also the actors and technicians so that they work together and enjoy what they’re doing. You try to work out all the variations in the scenario while writing the screenplay. I had to decide, well, who would be the person who would be sick? Who would give the marrow for the transplant? In the end, I had 32 possibilities. One possibility is Ivan. One possibility is Henri. A third possibility is Henri plus Ivan. You try all of them.

It’s like solving a creative equation.

Yeah, and then at the end of it, you finally choose one person. But this process that you’ve now gone through with all of these characters has enabled you to understand those characters, too. Then we come to one of my favorite parts of the production, which is the point just before we begin shooting, where we’re scouting out the locations. I’m with the crew, the D.P., and we’re looking at everything — will this work? We put the gestures in, and it’s almost as if we’re replaying the screenplay without completely trusting it.

The Best Of The Last

The end is near. In mere days Portlandia wraps up its final season, and oh what a season it’s been. Lucky for you, you can watch the entire season right now right here and on the IFC app, including this free episode courtesy of Subaru.

But now, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the new classics Fred and Carrie have so thoughtfully bestowed upon us. (We’ll be looking back through tear-blurred eyes, but you do you.)

Couples Dinner

It’s not that being single sucks, it’s that you suck if you’re single.

Cancel it!

A sketch for anyone who has cancelled more appointments than they’ve kept. Which is everyone.

Forgotten America

This one’s a “Serial” killer…everything both right and wrong about true crime podcasts.

Wedding Planners

The only bad wedding is a boring wedding.

Disaster Hut

It’s only the end of the world if your doomsday kit doesn’t include rosé.

Your Portlandia Personality Test

Carrie and Fred understand that although we have so much in common, we’re each so beautifully unique and different. To help us navigate those differences, Portlandia has found an easy and honest way to embrace our special selves in the form of a progressive new traffic system: a specific lane for every kind of driver. It’s all in honor of the show’s 8th and final season, and it’s all presented by Subaru.

Ready to find out who you really are? Match your personality to a lane and hop on the expressway to self-understanding.

Lane 10: Trucks Piled With Junk

Your junk is falling out of your trunk. Shake a tail light, people — this lane is for you.

Lane 33: Twins

You’re like a Gemini, but waaaay more pedestrian. Maybe you and a friend just wear the same outfits a lot. Who cares, it’s just twinning enough to make you feel special.

Lane 27: Broken Windows

Bad luck follows you around and everyone knows it. Your proverbial seat is always damp from proverbial rain. Is this the universe telling you to swallow your pride? Yes.

Lane 69: Filthy Cars

You’re all about convenience. Getting your car washed while you drive is a no-brainer.

Lane 43: Newly Divorced Singles

It’s been a while since you’ve driven alone, and you don’t know the rules of the road anymore. What’s too fast? What’s too slow? Are you sending the right signals? Don’t worry, the breakdown lane is nearby if you need it.

Still can’t find a lane to match your personality? Check out all the videos here. And see the final season of Portlandia this spring on IFC.

Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

It’s the final countdown to Christmas and thanks to IFC’s movie marathon all Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, you can revel in classic ’80s films AND find inspiration for your last-minute gifts. Here are our recommendations, if you need a head start:

Musical Instrument

Great analog entertainment substitute when you refuse to give your kid the Nintendo Switch they’ve been drooling over.

Breakfast In Bed

Any significant other or child would appreciate these Uncle Buck-approved flapjacks. Just make sure you’re not stuck on clean up duty.

Cocktail Supplies

You’ll need them to get through the holidays.

Dance Lessons

So you can learn to shake-shake-shake (unless you know ghosts willing to lend a hand).

Comfy Clothes

With all the holiday meals, there may be some…embigenning.

Get even more great inspiration all Christmas Eve and Day on IFC, and remember…